Arrow draw checking device



Aug. 26, 1969 I l. KILLIAN 3, 17

ARROW DRAW CHECKING DEVICE Filed May 31, 1967 INVENTOR GERALD I. K/LL/A/V BY ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,463,117 ARROW DRAW CHECKING DEVICE Gerald l. Killian, 2200 White Bear Ave., St. Paul, Minn. 55109 Filed May 31, 1967, Ser. No. 642,508 Int. Cl. G01d 21/00 US. Cl. 116-114 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A swingable actuator arm is pivotally attached to a bow and extends outward from the bow into the general area where the arrow head is normally located when in the drawn position. The arm rests against the arrow head and follows its taper to sense the proper location of the drawn arrow. Attached to the arm is an indicating device in the form of a thin, stilf wire which is located in the normal sighting area of the archer so that when the arrow is properly drawn, the indicator swings into the archers view and gives a visual indication of the correct draw. The arm is biased to rest against the arrow and to follow the contour of the arrow head by a magnet which acts on the arm or a spring connected to the arm, or something of a similar nature.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The invention is limited to use in the archery field and it may be used for both target shooting and hunting.

Description of the prior art Heretofore, most archers have set what they consider to be the proper draw by sensing the location of the rear or feathered end of the arrow. This has been done while aiming by the location of the hand which is pulling back or drawing the arrow with relation to some part of the head such as the mouth, ear or cheekbone or the like. Another less frequently used means for determining the correct draw has been by a device which monitors the flex of the bow as the bow is drawn. Both of these are less accurate than the precision needed by the archer in a given situation because these prior art devices and methods do not sense the location of the arrow head itself, which is the more critical factor.

SUMMARY The location of the arrow head is monitored directly by an actuator arm that extends outward from the bow and makes contact against the arrow head. A visual indication of the location is given by an indicator member which is attached directly to this arm. The indicator is located in the archers viewing area and does not interfere with aiming nor does it require shifting the head or eyes to be observed. The force with which the arm contacts the arrow is so slight that it has no effect on the aiming of the arrow nor the flight trajectory that the arrow follows when released. Because the sensing arm is in direct contact with the arrow head, a very accurate setting can be obtained. The device can be adjusted for use with any type of arrow head and can be used to set the draw over a virtual infinite range.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Advantages and features of this invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention mounted on a bow showing the arrow in an intermediate position while being drawn into the desired final draw position;

FIG. 2 is a view of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 as would be observed by the archer from the rear of the bow;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that shown in FIG. 2 but with the arrow located in what may be considered to be its final draw position; and

FIG. 4 illustrates the manner in which the indicating portion of the device appears in the sight of the archer when the arrow is in the correctly drawn position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3, the draw checking device is preferably constructed out of a stiff relatively inflexible metal wire. A single length of the wire can be bent to the desired shape or pieces can be made individually and then joined together by soldering or welding. In any event, the device should be constructed as an integral unit. At the bottom of the unit, an L-shaped actuator arm 10 extends outward and somewhat forward from its attachment to the bow 20. At one end 11, the arm 10 is fixedly attached to a large closed loop section, generally designated 12, which has a forwardly located elongated vertical indicator member 13 and a rearward located parallel but shorter support member 14. A thin flat plate 15, which may be made out of any suitable metal or plastic material or the like, is attached by adhesive or by small screws or any other convenient means to the inner side of bow 20. The supporting member 14 is pivotally attached to the plate 15 at upper and lower swivels or lugs 17. This permits both the actuator arm 10 and its attached indicator 13 to turn freely with respect to the bow over a limited yet substantial range. At the lower end of the support member 14 is a small, square closed loop 18 of metal wire which is an integral part of the unit. Attached to plate 15 at a location adjacent the loop 18 is a small magnet 19. The magnet acts on the loop 18 to attract it and to thereby swing arm 10 and indicator member 13 about their pivotal attachement to the bow outward from the bow or leftward as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3. With no arrow inserted, the magnet acts on loop 18 so that it is resting against the plate 15 so that the indicator 13 and the arm 10 are in their most fully extended positions where they appear to be farthest from the bow.

When an arrow 21 is inserted for use on an arrow rest or support 22, the arm 10 is swung back toward the bow by the shaft of the arrow and the indicator member 13 is correspondingly swung back to what might be considered its least extended position or where it appears to be closest to the bow, as illustrated in FIG. 2. As the arrow is being drawn back and aimed by the archer, when actuator arm 10 comes in contact with the tapered portion of the head of the arrow the arm and the indicator 13 both begin to swing outward from the bow, as illustrated in FIG. 3, and the indicator 13 comes into the archers view. When the arrow head is in the desired fully drawn position, the indicator 13 appears in the archers view at a predetermined setting, such as illustrated in FIG. 4. Typically, when the indicator 13 is located off center approximately half the radius of the sighting circle, the arrow draw position is correct. It should be understood, of course, that this is merely illustrative and the most desirable visual location of the indicator 13 is merely a matter of choice for each individual archer.

The force with which the arm pushes against the arrow, caused by the magnetic attraction of the magnet 19, is so slight that there is no effect on the arrow itself and it will fly true when released.

It should be noted that the actuator arm 10 is attached to the supporting member 14 by a member, such as a length of wire 23, which is considerably shorter than that member 24 which attaches the indicating member 13 to the supporting member 14. Any rotational movement of the arm 10 about the pivot point is therefore somewhat correspondingly magnified by the movement of indicator 13. This magnification provides a clearer view and more accurate determination or indication of the correct arrow draw setting.

Furthermore, the indicating member 13 is elevated and extends considerably above the actuating arm 10 for greater coverage of the archers normal viewing area and to be opposite the archers eye. This places the indicating member within what is ordinarily considered to be the sighting circle or the like by which the archer ordinarily aims the arrow. It has become common practice to use a sighting device, such as 25 sketchily illustrated in FIG. 4, and the indicating member 13 is intended to be clearly visible within such a sight without interfering with the archers arm.

It should be clear to one of ordinary skill there are many variations of construction of the device which are possible under the teachings of this invention. For example, the entire unit may he made of plastic material instead of metal. Of course, with plastic the magnetic biasing means which make the arm contact the arrow would have to be replaced with, for example, a light spring. Also, the location of the biasing means is not critical provided that it functions in a manner to attempt to swing the arm outward against the arrow in the intended manner. It is also possible that the actuating arm 10 can be attached to the indicator 13 in a variety of fashions and the indicator itself can take on a variety of sizes and shapes provided that it follows the movement of the actuating arm and provides the needed visual indications.

Even though the unit should be constructed of a material that is relatively stiff and inflexible, it still can be forcibly adjusted to the desires of the individual archer. Furthermore, the device is noiseless when in operation so there is nothing to interfere with the archers concentration. Although it is extremely lightweight, so adds virtually nothing to the weight of the how, it is quite rugged in construction and can withstand all types of environmental conditions and a great deal of physical abuse.

In aiming an arrow, it is aimed so that the anticipated flight trajectory will carry the arrow to strike the target at the desired point of impact. The force with which the arrow leaves the bow is a direct function of the amount of draw on the arrow and has a substantial eflect on the arrow flight trajectory. Therefore, the need for accuracy and reliability of the arrow draw becomes apparent when trying to get a consistent accurate aim at the target. The present invention gives this reliability to the degree of precision that is required.

I claim:

1. A device for indicating and displaying the correct draw of an arrow, comprising in combination a bow; means including an actuator arm rotatably mounted on a plate member which is attached to said bow, said actuator arm extending outwardly from the bow for making contact against an inserted arrow; means for biasing said arm mounted on said plate member so that it presses against the inserted arrow without disturbing the arrow setting; and indicating means attached to said arm and movable therewith, said indicating means being located in the archers line of sight when the arrow is drawn for indicating when the arrow is correctly fully drawn.

2. The invention as in claim 1 wherein said arm is a rigid lightweight member which extends outward from the bow for making contact against the head of the arrow when the arrow is drawn.

3. The invention as in claim 2 wherein said biasing means biases said arm to follow the taper of the arrow head when the arrow is in its drawn position.

4. The invention as in claim 3 wherein said arm is pivotally attached to the bow.

5. The invention as in claim 4 wherein said biasing means comprises means coupled to said arm acting on the arm to swing it about said pivotal attachment away from the how.

6. The invention as in claim 5 wherein said indicating means extends outward from said pivotal attachment a substantially greater distance than said arm whereby pivotal movement of said arm provides an enlarged movement of said indicator means.

7. The invention as in claim 6 wherein said indicating means is located above the normal inserted position of the arrow to be in the arehers sighting and aiming view.

8. The invention as in claim 7 wherein said indicating means is a lightweight, thin, rigid, elongated, vertical member.

9. The invention as in claim 8 wherein said arm is at least partly metallic and said biasing means comprises a magnet attached to the bow and magnetically coupled to said arm.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,786,461 3/ 1957 Pelsue 124-25 3,097,624 7/ 1963 Bergquist 116-67 3,292,607 12/1966 Hoyt 124--24 X 3,342,173 9/1967 Ferguson 124-24 3,372,686 3/1968 Losh 124-24 LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner DANIEL M. YASICH, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 124-24 

